DVDActive uses cookies to remember your actions, such as your answer in the poll. Cookies are
also used by third-parties for statistics, social media and advertising. By using this website, it is
assumed that you agree to this.

Batman Beyond: Season 2 (US - DVD R1)

Gabe stays shway, and gives a glance to the continued adventures of Batman...

Feature

In the year 2000-something, Bruce Wayne is forced to put the Batman suit on the shelf and close up the Batcave indefinitely when his aging body forces him to use a handgun to defend himself. About 30 years later a punk kid named Terry McGinnis figures out Wayne's secret past, and the Battorch is passed. McGinnis and Wayne fight crime in the future Gotham City, Bruce as the brains, Terry as the Brawn. Futuristic villains call for a futuristic Batman, and all the technology at Wayne's fingertips is utilized in the name of a safer city.

Season two of the series delves more into Terry's struggle to maintain a school life, a home life, a love life, and his secret nightlife. New villains arise, but powerful enemies from Batman's past also rear their evil heads. Terry gets assistance from an unlikely source in the season's new good-guy character, Max, a smart friend who figures out Terry's dark secret.

If I'm watching TV you can bet I'm watching a nature or historical documentary, a pop culture countdown special, or cartoons. Usually it's cartoons. I love a good cartoon. It's almost as if I never grew out of those Saturday mornings on the couch at six a.m., bowl of cereal in one hand and a pencil an pad in the other, furiously scribbling monsters and super heroes while slurping down Honey Nut Cheerios and milk. I only turned the TV off when the live action shows began (damn you Saved By The Bell).

Most of my friends outgrew cartoons around Junior High. I didn't, and do you know who I blame? I blame Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Dan Riba, and anyone else involved in the 1992 production of Batman: The Animated Series. The show was too good to pass up. It was graphically interesting, with its square jaws and Art Deco architecture, and its story's were just adult enough to keep me intrigued. Best of all was how thematically and physically dark the series was, great stuff for an angsty teen.

I use to think that I just loved all cartoons, but re-watching some of my childhood favourites (like Super Mario Super Show and C.O.P.S.) has proven that my tastes have matured quite a bit. Batman just matured with me. In 1993 the creators came out with a feature length film, Batman: Mast of the Phantasm. Mask of the Phantasm is so good it ended up ruining all past and future takes on the Dark Knight. Yes, Batman Begins is a great movie, but Mask of the Phantasm is even better. Better visuals, better characters, and it covers the origin story just as well. And Batman Begins didn't have Mark Hamil's Joker. Good luck Heath Ledger, you may think you're standing in Jack Nicholson's shadow, but in this fans eye's Luke Skywalker himself is the man to live up to.

The creators revamped the series for its last season, and branched out into a Superman series, a Justice League series, and a futuristic take on the Dark Knight called Batman Beyond. Every one of these shows was met with skepticism by yours truly, and it took me a little while to appreciate them. They all grew on my (especially Justice League, which may be my favourite television drama ever), and I greatly appreciated the creator's attempts at a greater animated universe continuity. Like good comics, it's hard to talk about just one of the four shows with out mentioning the others (which also included Static Shock, which was aimed at a slightly younger audience).

Batman Beyond could've easily been a gimmick show (sticking a popular character in a futuristic setting was a big thing in the '90s, and got really old), but Timm and company brought life and dimension to all of the characters, and put real effort into their stories. The show was originally intended to be a lighter series than Batman, but the creators eventually faltered to superior story telling. Like every other show in the universe, it took time to build on the foundation, and the first season isn't as good as the second.

Batman Beyond and Static Shock are the lesser shows in the cannon, and similar in many respects. Both shows represent the most unbridled universes in the Bruce Timm cannon, as neither was based specifically in a comic. Timm and his crew may've reworked Batman, Superman, The Justice League, but they still stayed very true to the character's origins. With these series they were able to create more of their own characters.

Another shared trait of the two series is the age of the main characters, and this is what ends up paling the show when compared to the other series to an adult viewer. I've never had much interest in the hardships of teenagers, even when I was one, and Batman Beyond spends a little too much time in that territory. Don't get me wrong, I love melodrama and soap opera in my cartoons (Batman and Catwoman's relationship, Batman and Wonder Woman's relationship, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl's relationship, etc.), but I'm not inclined to care very much about the love stories of children. And like Clark Kent's love interest in Smallville, Lana, Batman's high school sweetheart is a pretty uninteresting chick. The teen angle also makes for some undesirable Spider-Man parallels.

When watched back to back with season one (as soon as I found out this review disc was coming I went out and bought season one, something I may've done with Gilmore Girls or Smallville had there not been so many seasons previous to the ones I was sent), it's clear that the animation in season two has improved. This is in keeping with most animated series, as animators must get into a groove with the style and characters. The action scenes are bigger, and the action itself faster paced, not to mention more brutal. I'm surprised some events got by the children's television standards people (though apparently it didn't in the UK).

The Bruce Timm series are, on the whole, some of the only successful American animated series that don't emulate Japanese animated series. There is an overlying style similarity, and it is original to the universe. I'd call it Art Deco meets Jack Kirby. Batman Beyond mixed in some interesting colour patterns, such as making background characters monochromatically purple in some shots, and has a hint of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, making it a perfect future stand-in for the already effective universe.

Though Bruce Timm's animated universe is a visually striking and memorable one, it usually succeeds in the grand scheme of all animated entertainment due to its characters. Batman Beyond has some very well drawn characters, and a believable supporting cast despite its fantastic realms. This sets a very high standard, and when a character does something emotionally unrealistic, or the writers try to please the audience in inorganic ways, it stands out.

The incorporation of Terry's sidekick Maxine Gibson smacks of some kind of awkward appeasement to fans (or in this case, Warner Bros. brass). The character is well written and acted, but entirely unnecessary. I'd argue that Terry is already Bruce's sidekick, or vise versa, not to mention Bruce's dog, Ace, who decides he like Terry this season. I think two Batmen and a Batdog are enough. Had Max acted as Terry significant other perhaps this would've been a different story, but he already has a flatly drawn harpy to come home to. As is, Max feels like a Lando character – a female minority figure included for the sake of having one, not to better the story.

I also don't like the fact that Terry really isn't concerned with helping criminals, just stopping them, and often offers great assistance in their demises, or at the very least simply looks on. Bruce Wayne always offered compassion for his enemies as soon as he'd gained control over them. I see it as kind of the point of the character, having rules against death and murder are what separates this Dark Knight from other vigilante riffs like The Punisher. Batman is dark and brutal, but not heartless. It could be argued that the future timeframe looses its compassion, but I'm not sure I buy that.

What really makes the show for me, beyond its lovely visuals, is the witty banter. It's hard to write good witty banter, just look at the veritable flood of bad one liners that drool out of most action heroes' mouths. For such an overall dark show, Batman Beyond is genuinely funnier than most adult comidies on television.

Video

It's too bad that of all the DC animated shows only Justice League was presented in widescreen. Batman Beyond looks great, but I really wish it filled my entire 16 x 9 television screen. It just seems a little too epic for square boarders.

Minor ratio quibbles aside, this is a solid transfer. When the Batman series sets came out, Timm and crew were quick to mention the fact that they didn't want the episodes overly cleaned. They liked the dirt and grain. The follow up series is slicker, and benefits from a more crisp transfer, but there are still hints of dirt here and there. The colours are solid and bright with very little digital noise, and there's very little bleeding, even on Batman's bright red logo. Only darker backgrounds ever seen to suffer from compression issues, and these are very easily ignored. Edge enhancement is almost non-existent, but there is some distortion on the hard edges.

Audio

I love you Shirley Walker. Your music on the original Batman series is magnificent. Mask of the Phantasm may have some Danny Elfman influence (edit: thanks to reader Admonisher, pictured here I beleive, for making it clear that Walker did not, in fact, take cues from Elfman on her score), but you made it special, and I've had it on my iPod ever since I bought the thing. Kristopher Carter and Michael McCuistion, I like you guys, but just as friends. Some of your electric guitar work on Justice League Unlimited rubbed me the wrong way, but on the whole it was pretty magnificent. Here on Batman Beyond you guys have gelled pretty well. I prefer orchestral scores backing up my superheroes, but if techno/metal was ever needed, this is the series.

Batman Beyond season two has a fine Dolby Surround 2.0 mix, which sounds better than quite a few 5.1 tracks I've been privy to. A lot of the success of the track falls on the series sound designers, who create an expanded and fleshed out future world. Though infinitely imaginative, these sounds help root the series in reality. Surround effects are busy throughout, and I do pine for a 5.1 track, but it isn't required. Bass is heavy while still remaining punchy, as sometimes more aggressive Dolby Surround tracks will simply buzz. Dialogue is always clear, and the aforementioned score sounds great.

Extras

The cast and crew see fit to supply us with two commentary tracks. The tracks are a little busy, but very informative. The participants total recall is pretty amazing. Timm often takes over the track, but rarely interrupts. The discussions often go beyond the episode in question, causing me to personally pine for a few more tracks. The episodes chosen are Splicers and Eggbaby. Splicers is an obvious choice because it was the season opener, it's Eggbaby that reveals a little something about the talent, as it's easily the quirkiest episode on the run.

The last disc in the set includes a short round table discussion with the four producers and a moderator (the same chubby geek on all the other DC Animation releases). The participants all seem quite happy with the final product, unlike the first season of Justice League, which everyone seemed to hate. It is officially revealed that the character of Max was a studio-imposed addition, as was the centering of the story threads at Terry's high school, which were both problems for me. Sometimes the creators really should be left to their own devices.

Overall

All this talk may seem overly negative, and maybe it is, but Batman Beyond doesn’t reach the dizzying greatness of Justice League. It is a very entertaining and emotionally centered series, and judged on its own merits a near classic animated series, but one simply can't ignore the other pieces of Timm's puzzle. I ended up watching all 26, 22-minute episodes in less than a week, while busy with other projects, because I was enjoying myself. I admit that the series got better with each episode. Batman took a few seasons to be great, and Justice League was a direct extension of two very successful series, so perhaps the final episodes of Batman Beyond will live up to the status set before it. The final episode, Epilogue, was actually released as a Justice League Unlimited episode. It's one of the best episodes of any Timm series, beautifully emotional, and it ties up a lot of loose ends.

Advertisements

Comments

Reply

Message

Enter the message here then press submit. The username, password and message are required. Please make the message constructive, you are fully responsible for the legality of anything you contribute. Terms & conditions apply.

I forgot about Zeta, though he is introduced here on season three. Timm is credited as producer of Static Shock, and I assumed he had more creative control than perhaps he did, but in this case I'm mostly using Timm's name as a brand than a man's name.

Gabe Powers wrote: Batman Beyond and Static Shock are the lesser shows in the cannon, and similar in many respects.

Whilst I wouldn't agree that Batman Beyond is lesser know I just felt I should point out that you missed out The Zeta Project which was the other lesser known show (it was a spin-off from Batman Beyond and the two shows did cross over episodes).

Gabe Powers wrote: I knew Static Shock was a character, but I was pretty sure Timm was given free reign with him, is he anything like his comic counterpart?

Static Shock was Dwayne McDuffie's project as opposed to Bruce Timm's (I think Timm was credited as a producer or something but it was really McDuffie's baby). In the nineties McDuffie was one of the co-founders of Milestone Comics (the DC Comics imprint that launched Static along with several other black superheroes) and he actually created the comic-book version of Static.

Gabe Powers wrote: It's funny you were reading the novelization of Jedi though, I was listening to the storybook record at that time, the one that beeped when it was time to turn the page. We didn't have a VCR, so it was as close to rewatching the film as I could get.

Well, ironically, I had the TESB storybook record. Used to sit next to the turntable and really get into the narration. "Dinosaur-like war-machines..." as describing the AT-AT attack on Hoth.

Garage isn't meant for filmmusic so I don't waste time with it. Finale and Sibelius are perfect for me even though the sound sucks, but pro tools should fix that sound problem

I'm guessing we're both "self thought composers". I can't read my own music sheet on Finale either. but I do play the piano and have it connected to both Finale and Sibelius so every note I hit ends up on the screen. makes writing a lot easier than using a mouse

I'm very familiar with the "Bebop" but never knew who was responsible for the music. usually love music in japanime, especially the end song for "Outlaw Star".

I just got a 8 track mixer for use with Garage Band. It's not quite as powerful as ProTools, but I'm getting all I need out of it. As someone that doesn't play piano or read music I usually write on my guitar or bass, and build the song from there. I've got a friend that's an amazing drummer coming over soon to lay down some tracks.

Kanno is best known for her work on Cowboy Bebop. I'm not a huge Anime fan, but some of her music is great both as series music and as casual listening music. I'd also reccommend looking into Goblin. They're the prog-rock group that did music for Dario Argento and other Italian filmmakers in the '70s. A lot of their stuff is dated, or a little too rocky, but Suspiria is a fine soundtrack. If you like them and Morricone check out Fabio Fabrizzi (he was remixed by The RZA for Kill Bill) and Riz Ortolani.

F**k it, I'm making a new thread over in the Movie Forums about music.

Quote: And as an aside: I clicked on your links. Not much works on the work computer, but I saw your influence list. As a budding muscian myself, I'd suggest you get some Ennio Moricone and Yoko Kanno in your diet ASAP, if you don't already, of course. hey thanks for checking out my c**p. I just bought the uber expensive pro tools and magnus choir so I will be adding more music to my pages soon.

right now i'm busy with John Barry and Alex North, but the very second i'm done with them I will move on to Moricone. the older filmmusic geeks that I know LOVE him. never heard of Kanno though, need to do some research on him

I've actually got Last Son of Krypton for my Birthday this year...from Blake actually, so I've heard it. I'm not that fond of the JLU theme (but I can play it on guitar ), I think the electric guitar stuff was a little too campy.

Thanks for editing your review ... it's still a stronger wording than I would use, but I'll take what I can get. If you like Walker's Superman theme, check out the end credits for the movie-version DVDs of "Last Son of Krypton" and "The Batman/Superman Movie" for a killer extended version of the theme!

Post-Walker, Lolita Ritmanis wrote the theme for Justice League, and Michael McCuistion for JLU. Walker, Carter, Ritmanis and McCuistion all wrote music for Batman Beyond. The BB title theme, written by Kristopher Carter, was selected and reworked from a demo CD all four composers had submitted to the producers.

BTW, in your review you mention Kris Carter and Mike McCuistion as JL/JLU composers. Lolita Ritmanis is the final third of that team, and deserves mention alongside her partners. (Their website is here, by the way: www.dynamicmusicpartners.com And for Shirley Walker info, including sound clips aplenty, visit: walker.filmmusic.com )

Alright, I fixed thing, and added a little extra link for the '90s comic book fans in the house. I adore Walker's Superman theme. I think it's more rousing than Williams'. I can't seem to figure out who specifically wrote the original Justice League opening titles. Those were perfect.

Gabe Powers wrote: I'm going to go home and listen to the two themes back to back. The problem here may be that I've got Walker's theme on my iPod, and haven't listened to the Elfman theme in forever. So the title sequence on the original Batman Animated series wasn't her but Mark McKenzie and Steve Bartek?

OK, here's how it breaks down. The majority of "Batman: The Animated Series" episodes aired with an original opening sequence -- a mini-narrative of Batman catching bank robbers, ending with that supremely cool shot of him standing against a blood-red, lightning-streaked sky. This 60-second opening was scored with Danny Elfman's theme, as arranged by McKenzie/Bartek. They also arranged a 30-second end credits version of Elfman's theme.

The producers on the show were not fond of Elfman's theme. At their request, Shirley Walker wrote an original theme they felt was more suited to the animated version of the character. The studio, however, under pressure from Elfman's agent, mandated the use of Elfman's theme -- at least, in the credits sequences. Elfman's theme also made a few quick cameo appearances alongside Walker's theme in some early episode scores ("On Leather Wings", "The Last Laugh" ), but was quickly phased out.

Eventually, when certain episodes of the show's third season aired under the title "The Adventures of Batman & Robin", a new credits sequence was cut together using clips from the series. This "clip montage" is entirely scored by Walker, using her theme, with an accompanying end credits cue.

The show was revamped after the initial success of the animated Superman (also with a theme by Walker) as "The New Batman/Superman Adventures". A new, more stylish clip montage was assembled, featuring footage from both shows, and Walker wrote a new opening theme. It can be heard on the B:TAS Volume 4 DVD set by selecting the "Play All" option on one of the discs (4? I forget which...), which will allow you to choose between the regular Batman intro and the Batman/Superman Adventures intro.

Quote: Maybe I should've said that she took her 'cue' from Elfman, as in, some of her inspiration, because the series and Burton films have a simular feel to there music.

That would be more accurate ... but I'd still try to avoid using the word "cue" in a context like this, just to be safe.

Quote: Out of curiosity, are you a regular visitor to the site, or did you just do a Shirley Walker web search?

I am a regular visitor. I enjoy the site quite a bit. This is just the first time I felt compelled to post.

I'm going to go home and listen to the two themes back to back. The problem here may be that I've got Walker's theme on my iPod, and haven't listened to the Elfman theme in forever. So the title sequence on the original Batman Animated series wasn't her but Mark McKenzie and Steve Bartek?

I can't read music, but I have an understanding, and I can play the notes in my head roughly. There is a simularity in sound, as in one evokes the other, and both themes would feel at home in the same film, but you're absolutly right, the melodies are different.

Maybe I should've said that she took her 'cue' from Elfman, as in, some of her inspiration, because the series and Burton films have a simular feel to there music. Thanks, it's good to get a professional opinion on these things.

Out of curiosity, are you a regular visitor to the site, or did you just do a Shirley Walker web search?

Blake_R wrote: Gabe, I had no idea you couldn't read music. Do you have the music dyslexia? Do you play your grandpa guitars?

As far as similarity goes, they're both black urban teens, and they both have electricity powers and fight crime, and they both have series that I haven't watched/read more than one of.

I actually found out recently that I just have mild dyslexia in general. I've had a few friends try to teach me music, but it never quite computes. It might be one of those right brain vs. left brain things, and I've tested very, very right brained.

I actually watched a lot of Static Shock because it was on during my lunch break at my old job. It's not bad, but it's definitely aimed at teens.

Gabe Powers wrote: I still think that the overall melody is close enough to Elfman's for me to call it "based on".

I'm still baffled as to why you think this is the case. Perhaps an illustration will help explain why I disagree so strongly. Even not reading music, you should get the general idea:

As you can see, Walker's theme bears absolutely NO resemblance to Elfman's primary theme. In SOME arrangements of Walker's theme, such as the one given here, it shares the "half-note followed by two quarter-notes" pattern in bars one and three of Elfman's secondary theme -- a superficial and basically inconsequential similarity from a musicological standpoint, given the very different intervals involved and the commonality of the rhythm.

That's just a cursory glance at one variation of each melody. Deeper penetration of the scores and performances would reveal no links beyond (as I stated earlier) the basics of a dark/gothic/romantic approach, as suggested by the subject matter.

In short, I defy you to find a trained musician who, not having heard the themes in the context of Batman, will listen to them and conclude that the Walker piece has anything more than a general stylistic similarity to the Elfman piece.

I apologize for spending so much time on this, but I think it's important to be clear. It's one thing to say, "Well, A and B sound really similar to me." I happen to disagree -- but how it "sounds to you" is subjective, and a hard point to argue. That's fine. All boy bands sound alike to me. But that's not what you're saying. You're making the specific argument that "B is based on A", which is an altogether different kind of claim. You make it both in the absence of anecdotal evidence (neither Walker nor Elfman nor the show's producers have ever suggested that her theme is, in any way, based on his) and without being able to demonstrate your claim in a musically literate way (which is important, since you're making a the kind of claim about the composition process that *should* be demonstratable).

OK ... this has been a long harangue, I know. Bear with me a little longer, and I promise to have some useful suggestions for tweaking that paragraph.

Quote: When I refered to Walker using Elfman's cues though, and I can see now re-reading my statement that there was a problem in my wording, I meant on the series more than the movie. I see the movie as 99.9% hers. I do apologize for my ignorance on the terminology though. I've played music for years, but I've never taken a formal class or lesson. I can't read music and I'm not 100% on the terminology. I would like to be more accurate though, how would you suggest I word the fact that not all of Walker's music on the original series was her own?

I can't. Because the fact is that, with the exception of a few SECONDS of quoted material over two first-season episodes, it's 100% Walker, or a member of her team under her supervision! (She had nothing to do with the title/credits arrangements, which were done by Mark McKenzie and Steve Bartek, I believe.) Don't get me wrong -- there are scattered moments throughout the series where I think to myself, "Yeah, that sounds Elfman-esque." The laughing gas waltz in "The Last Laugh" and the newspaper clippings sequence in "Harley And Ivy" jump to mind. Walker herself was a fan of Elfman's work on Batman -- she felt his score deserved to win the Oscar -- and she doubtless approved of his general approach to the character. I think it would be fair to say that Walker, as an artist, was inspired by what Elfman had accomplished as an artist, and wanted to emulate his successes. Agreeing with his overall instincts about how the world of Batman should sound, she responded in a similar way (though not identical -- there are some striking divergences). You could probably get away with saying she followed his lead in some aspects of the overall approach, and that her writing evoked his on isolated occasions. But that's about as far as I'd go.

If I had to rewrite that first paragraph under the Audio section, I would do it like this: "I love you Shirley Walker. In the tradition of Danny Elfman's epic score to the original Batman, your music on the original Batman series and in Mask of the Phantasm is magnificent." Or something to that effect.

All best, John

P.S. Yeah, Holst's "Mars" is a popular source of "inspiration" ... right up there with Orff's "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana. And the ROTJ novelization is awesome. The ESB novelization, by contrast, reads like a thesaurus full of adjectives and adverbs got together and beat the prose to death!

We live in a weird world where all the toy stores are going out of business because children only want to play video games, but 'action figures' based on cult horror movies sell like hotcakes to twenty and thirty-something men. Children are losing their childhoods and imagination, and grown-ups are obsessed with them. It actually makes me worry about the next generation of artists. We already live in such a post-modern world, and pop-culture of the '80s and '90s has already become a mainstay and inspiration for young filmmakers and musicians, where do we go from here? Is the next generation going to only reference video games (emphasis on the only there, video games are fine)?

It's funny you were reading the novelization of Jedi though, I was listening to the storybook record at that time, the one that beeped when it was time to turn the page. We didn't have a VCR, so it was as close to rewatching the film as I could get.

Gabe Powers wrote: Do you get the Boomerang network? They show a lot of those shows I wasn't allowed to watch in the 1980s when I was younger (I was born in 1980, in case anyone was trying to figure it out). I know I didn't grow up with the same fond memories other folks my age and slightly older may have, but most of them are simply awful as an adult. Video games and cartoons really started to change with my specific generation I think (born between about 1978-1982).

Yeah, OK. I was born in '73 so when Transformers and G.I. Joe came around I was on the verge of graduating Elementary School and starting Junior High. In fact, the idea of watching 'toons at that age (back then) was not cool. Hell, I was reading the novelization on Return of the Jedi as a 7th Grader in '86 and some girls were making fun of me. So by the time Batman:TAS came around, I was already in college. And by that time, I couldn't even keep up with StarTrek:TNG, let alone watch these new 'toons. Only now that I'm well into my adult years, and the benefits of DVD and satellite TV have I been able to catch up on some of these animated shows I missed during my college career.

I still think that the overall melody is close enough to Elfman's for me to call it "based on". When I refered to Walker using Elfman's cues though, and I can see now re-reading my statement that there was a problem in my wording, I meant on the series more than the movie. I see the movie as 99.9% hers. I do apologize for my ignorance on the terminology though. I've played music for years, but I've never taken a formal class or lesson. I can't read music and I'm not 100% on the terminology. I would like to be more accurate though, how would you suggest I word the fact that not all of Walker's music on the original series was her own?

As a ignoramus though, I'd add 'Mars, God of War' to your list, as it's been 're-appropriated' about 7 million times, and I'd say that if there was a law about plagiarizing one's self (John Fogerty was once sued for plagiarizing himself, but the case was thrown out), both John Williams and Hans Zimmer would be in prison now.

I can’t agree with your assessment of Danny Elfman’s main title being a “pretty big influence” on Shirley Walker’s. Musically speaking, they are simply not very similar – there are vast differences of tempo, melodic shape, orchestration, etc. What they share is a darkly romantic tone and a vaguely gothic architecture. Those elements didn’t originate with Elfman – they are inherent to the Batman mythos, and both Elfman and Walker spin them in distinctive ways. Rather than say that Elfman’s composition directly inspired Walker’s, I think it would be far more accurate to say that Elfman and Walker were both similarly inspired by very similar subject matter … as is true of Elliot Goldenthal’s “Batman Forever” and Jerry Goldsmith’s “The Shadow”.

To illustrate my point, let me offer what I consider to be some valid examples of a musical work influencing another musical work. In his use of brass clusters in the Matrix scores, Don Davis is drawing specifically on the concert works of John Adams. Elmer Bernstein’s orchestrations in “The Magnificent Seven” build on the work of his mentor, Aaron Copland. Jerry Goldsmith’s main title to “Total Recall”, in its specific rhythm and instrumentation, begins with a definite nod to Basil Poledouris’ “Conan the Barbarian,” before spinning off into wildly different directions. No such compelling compositional link can be drawn between Elfman’s and Walker’s respective Batman themes.

Making things especially problematic is your use of the word “cue”, which, in the context of film scoring, is specific terminology implying creative ownership of a particular composition. For example: John Ottman uses/adapts several of John Williams’ cues in “Superman Returns”. In his score to “Battle Beyond The Stars”, James Horner rather crudely rejiggers Goldsmith’s “Klingon Battle” cue from “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”. In short, to say that Walker “uses Elfman’s cues” is, to anyone familiar with industry lingo, tantamount to a charge of plagiarism – something I’m sure you didn’t mean to imply! Given the risk of misleading your readers, my recommendation to edit your review remains.

As an addendum, rumors of Danny Elfman’s reliance on orchestrators and ghostwriters to obtain his specific sound are without merit. (While he has worked with a number of orchestrators, he is no more dependant on them than Goldsmith or Williams.)

Oh … and yes, the lyrics for MOTP are constructed from backwards names. The most complete telling of the story behind this – the “unabridged” version, to use Mrs. Walker’s word – can be read in the aforementioned FSMO interview.

But seriously, thanks for caring, and I've heard these things about Shirley myself. I know that Elfman isn't a hack, but I also know he's been accused of only writing main themes on several occasions. Admonisher, the opening titles of Mask of the Phantasm are different than Elfman's, but there's a pretty big influence. It's interesting that my statements about her got such big mention in the talk back. I guess she has some huge fans out there.

I beleive it was you Blake, that told me the chorus at the beggining of Phantasm is just the production crew's names backwards.

I knew Static Shock was a character, but I was pretty sure Timm was given free reign with him, is he anything like his comic counterpart?

Hey Gabe, look who's posting! Keen review. Two notes though. One, Static Shock was actualy a comic from the dark era of the early 90's. I'll bring it over next time. Two, I'm told that Elfman's a bit hack, and most of the music for the Batman movies is Shirley's doing (seeing as she was the conductor and all). This may be the ramblings of a madman. Speaking of Mark Hammil as the Flash, it's great that he gets to show up as the character again in JLU!

Hey Gabe. Excellent review, but one important correction: I love Shirley Walker, too -- just interviewed her for Film Score Monthly Online, in fact -- and I can assure you that Danny Elfman contributed ZERO cues/themes to "Mask of the Phantasm". It's 100% Shirley Walker. There are some general stylistic similarities, to be sure, but that's it. Elfman's theme was used as the Main/End Title for most episodes of the animated series, and pops up briefly in a few Season One eps, but that is the sum total of his contribution to the DCAU. It would be nice if you emended your review accordingly.

In addition to "Batman: The Animated Series", Shirley Walker composed music for "Superman: The Animated Series" -- including the knockout two-part finale "Legacy" -- "The New Batman/Superman Adventures" (with its unique Main Title theme), and "Batman Beyond" (Some of her cues for BB are available on the commercially released soundtrack CD). Her themes for Batman, Superman, Braniac, Darkseid and others could be heard throughout "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited".

Some trivia: The series that Shirley Walker DID adapt Danny Elfman themes for was the pre-Batman:TAS, live-action TV show "The Flash" (featuring Mark Hammil as the Trickster, funnily enough). This was after she conducted Elfman's score to "Batman". These two factors helped made her the ideal choice for Batman:TAS. More trivia: Want to know what kind of advantages a composer who can orchestrate can bring to a production? Look no further than Batman:TAS, for which Walker and her team had an average of 29 musicians to work with (a typical symphony orchestra has 3-4 times that number -- "Mask of the Phantasm" had around 110, plus choir). But Walker wrote big and obtained a big sound, episode after terrific episode.

Once again, I want to recommend DCAU music fans check out the latest two issues of Film Score Monthly Online. The interview with Mrs. Walker is split into two parts, runs about 9 pages, and is packed with copious audio clips and graphics. Next month's issue will feature an interview with Kristopher Carter, Lolita Ritmanis and Michael McCuistion. There's a subscription fee for FSM's online service (the regular site has lots of free content, including monthly podcasts), but if you're a soundtrack nerd like me, it's WELL worth it.

Do you get the Boomerang network? They show a lot of those shows I wasn't allowed to watch in the 1980s when I was younger (I was born in 1980, in case anyone was trying to figure it out). I know I didn't grow up with the same fond memories other folks my age and slightly older may have, but most of them are simply awful as an adult. Video games and cartoons really started to change with my specific generation I think (born between about 1978-1982). It's as if studios realized that maybe the reason children stopped liking these things as they grew up was that they were insulting. I look at cartoons today and am in awe of the overall quality in comparison. I wish I had stuff like Justice League, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends when I was 8.

Superfriends is only good as a freakshow in silliness. The only one that actually impressed from that '70s era (other than Johnny Quest, which I knew I loved) was the Planet of the Apes. It's not all that well written, and the animation is choppy, but I really like the style.

I pretty much echo your thoughts on cartoons, Gabe. Although it seems we're about one generation apart. I grew up during the '80s, it seems you grew up through the '90s, as you quote the '92 Batman:TAS as the one cartoon that kept you watching toons into your teens.

As someone who grew up in the late-'70s through the mid-'80s, there wasn't any "adult-oriented" toons out there so I pretty much stopped watching tunes once the Transformers and G.I. Joe ended when I was in Junior High.

Anyway, I share your feelings on the Justice League. I love that show...as a mid-30 something. The animation is awesome, and the violence level is pretty brutal for a show that is aimed more at children and teens. As someone who watched the original Superfriends, Justice League just blows away that old incarnation. I also love the CG effects in Justice League. Really helps sell the "super powers" aspect.

With Batman Beyond, it's a bit different. I liked the first season, but like you wished it was in 16x9. I also wished it had the CG effects. Shame Timm made that series before digitally-aided animation. I haven't gotten around to watching my second season set yet, but plan to once I finish up my Bond UEs. Looking forward to it.

According to Timm on the round table they were told they needed to add a female, but I'm willing to bet that they were also asked to make her black. The thing about it is that Timm's style doesn't really dictate any race besides black, and I suppose specifically white when blonde or red hair is used. Black people have slightly darker skin and slightly larger lips the way he and his designers draw. The truth is that the racial make-up of the characters is pretty ambiguous. I had no idea that Terry's girlfriend was suppose to be Asian untill they showed us her father.

It's a fine line though. Studies have shown that presenting children with positive minority role models does help them grow up to be more racial accepting and well rounded adults. In adult entertainment I find it a bit insulting. I guess this show is teenager entertainment, which makes it hard to judge.

And for the record, there are pleanty of people of color in LOTR....they just happen to be the bad guys (though truthfully, Hobbits, dwarfs, and wizards are their own races. Nerd alert!)

And as an aside: I clicked on your links. Not much works on the work computer, but I saw your influence list. As a budding muscian myself, I'd suggest you get some Ennio Moricone and Yoko Kanno in your diet ASAP, if you don't already, of course.

I used to watch this show. I didn't really like the whole future setting thing. Slightly off-topic but I've seen some of that new Batman cartoon, 'The Batman', and its actually pretty good, but I bet once they get into the heavy sci-fi stuff that it will drop in quality. (Examples, Spiderman Unlimited, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [the recent one])